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Show Me the Chair

This week we finally got the teaser trailer, and while everyone and their imaginary friend was having kittens over how creepy President Snow is, or how creepy Peeta’s turn of the head was, I was having a gay ol’ time deciphering the thing the President was sitting his creepy ass down in. Yep, I was doing my usual thing, analyzing the scenery, ’cause um– it’s fun! Also, nine times out of ten it tells us something insightful that otherwise we’d all just be ignorant of, which is fine if you’re into that whole ignorance being blissful thing.

I like to call myself an amateur antique furniture expert, ’cause my stack of reference books only allow me to say amateur. Anyway, since a vast majority of the furniture President Snow surrounds himself with are antiques, or amalgamations of antique styles and designs– there’s a lot to explore! Fun stuff, huh? You’re damn right it is! Where would we be without history?! Oh yeah, Ikea. Sorry, if you’re into Swedish style furniture, it’s okay, I don’t judge! However, if the only tools you own are the tiny Allen wrenches that come with Ikea kits, then I have a problem– actually, you do.

The chair though, oh my– the chair! I saw a picture of it first of course, and quickly had a time taking out my books, and trying to find a match, or something that closely resembles the pristine, white chair. Second off, it’s not an exact replica of anything that’s still in existence from the past, it’s like I said above, an amalgamation of styles and designs. And the styles it is it this, William and Mary, with a dash of Charles II, the eras are at the tail end of the Baroque period, 1680s-90s in time frame– only you’d never ever find a white washed arm-chair like Snow’s gracing anyone’s rooms. And that my dear friends is what makes it so very Capitol. But what does it mean?! Why a William and Mary style arm-chair with sky-high finials?! Um,’cause they can. The thing about the Capitol is they like to take the commonplace, the fur shrug for example and give it a jab of crazy, and whammo— fashion personified times a million-zillion! In the case of their furniture however, the white washed armchair is another example of the Capitol taking what was once common, and turning it into something kind of sort of scary. And I don’t think for a second the choice of the thick white washing is an accident. Purity is one of the basic meanings behind the color, but I’m going to take it a few other steps down the line of meanings, “the Capitol are the good guys.” Why? ‘Cause the good guys where the white hats, and the bad guys where the black hats, this is what so many myths, folktales, and fairy tales have told us over the last millenia or more! Reverse psychology is such a good propaganda tool! And to top off my hypotheses, Snow is the King of Panem, only he’s titled himself “President”, he looks, at least to me, like a chess piece on the white end of the chessboard. And then there’s Peeta, well what else could he be but “a piece in their game”.

Peeta’s a Pawn, dressed in white, and standing at the ready to serve his King.

“Unlike other pieces, the pawn does not capture in the same direction as it otherwise moves. A pawn captures diagonally, one square forward and to the left or right. In the diagram to the left, the white pawn may capture either the black rook or the black knight.” – W